POS0732 CLINICAL, HISTOLOGICAL, AND SEROLOGICAL FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH SALIVARY GLAND ULTRASOUND IN PRIMARY SJÖGREN’S SYNDROME
Authors: M. I. González-Nieto, A. Portella Alegre, M. Planes-Conangla, S. Bujan Rivas, X. Serres-Créixams, R. Solans-Laqué
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2022)

Background Salivary gland ultrasound (SGUS) is a simple and non-invasive procedure that is readily available and supplies important information on the major salivary glands. Several recent studies have assessed SGUS as a tool for diagnosing primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), and have reported its association with different features in pSS. Objectives To investigate the association of SGUS findings with clinical, histological, and serologic features of pSS in our cohort. In addition, we include monospecific antibody determination to Ro60 or Ro52. Methods Patients with pSS were determined according to the American-European Consensus Group (AECG) criteria for pSS. A total of 53 of these pSS patients underwent SGUS evaluation. We considered SGUS score based on parenchymal homogeneity, presence of hypoechogenic areas, and clearness of posterior glandular border of salivary glands. The score of the highest graded gland was considered and a score ≥2 was defined as a positive SGUS, according to OMERACT US-SG scoring [1]. Patients were classified into two groups according to positive vs. negative SGUS. Demographic, clinical, histopathological, and laboratorial data were collected and compared between the groups. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test when the conditions for Chi-square test were not met, and continuous variables were compared using Student’s t-test with Welch’s correction. p-values &lt;0.05 were considered significant. Results Study participants were predominantly women (98%) and had a mean age of 60.2 years. SGUS was positive in 32 (63%) pSS patients, they were all women and had a mean age of 59 years. Positive SGUS was associated with objective evidence of ocular involvement (defined as a positive result for at least one of the ocular tests, p&lt;0.001), time of evolution of xerophthalmia at diagnosis (mean 5.8 years vs. 2.2 years, p=0.037), pathological result of the labial salivary gland biopsy when it was performed (p&lt;0.001), and the presence in the serum of both antiRo60 and antiRo52 antibodies (p=0.004), antiLa antibody (p=0.008) and ANA titer ≥1:320 (p&lt;0.001). No significant differences were found between positive SGUS and negative SGUS patients regarding the presence of xerophthalmia nor xerostomia, time of evolution of xerostomia at diagnosis, episodes of parotid inflammation, abnormal salivary scintigraphy, nor the presence in the serum of monospecific antiRo52 nor antiRo60 in the absence of each other, nor positive rheumatoid factor. Conclusion Positive SGUS was associated in pSS patients with objective evidence of pathological ocular function, histopathology of minor salivary glands, and serology of pSS, specifically the presence of both antiRo52 and antiRo60 antibodies. In our cohort, no significant association was found regarding xerostomia, episodes of parotid inflammation, nor objective evidence of oral involvement. Thus, SGUS could be a useful tool to establish objective salivary gland involvement, independently of oral symptoms and other oral tests. References [1]Jousse-Joulin S, Coiffier G. Current status of imaging of Sjogren’s syndrome. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2020;34(6):101592. Disclosure of Interests None declared